Mill Creek Elementary School

Welcome to Mrs. Tomolonis' Distance Learning Phase 2 Page!  

Please use the tabs on the left to access Distance Learning Resources and Materials.

Now that Central Bucks officially began to implement Phase 2 of  Distance Learning, it is expected that students will learn new material as well as maintain the skills they received during Distance Learning in order to make a smoother transition once school is back in session.  

Teacher schedules for your child's homeroom teacher and for me are posted on our teacher websites.  A chart of expectations is also posted on our websites.  A student schedule is also posted on my website.  A student checklist of daily assignments will also be posted on our websites on Monday, April 6th.  On my website,  I created a Distance Learning Phase 2 tab with sub-tabs for my teacher schedule, student schedule, and expectations.  

On Mondays through Thursdays:

Every Monday morning, beginning on Monday, April 6, 2020 at 9:00 AM, your child will have a live meeting with their class lead by their homeroom teacher on Teams.  Students will log onto the homeroom tab and there will be a link to join.  Your child's homeroom teacher sent you an e-mail with directions to access the meeting.  The class meeting will be recorded so students can view and connect with classmates if they are not available at that time.  Teachers will go over where to find assignments and answer any questions students may have.  

Every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday morning at 9:00 AM, your child will have a live check-in meeting with their peers in learning support, which I will lead, on Teams.  I will check in with students, set expectations for the day or the current day and the following days, and answer any questions students may have.  I sent you an e-mail with directions to access the meeting.  The class meeting will be recorded so students can view and connect with classmates if they are not available at that time.  Because your child will be participating in live meetings with me on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, they are excused from their class morning work, while their homeroom teacher is already aware of and in agreement with.  

Prior to both Teams meetings, please review the school policy for Teams Call Etiquette below with your child.  Your child's homeroom teacher and I will also reinforce this in our first meeting.  

The schedule for the week with assignments for each day will continue to be posted on your child's homeroom teacher's website and my website on the student checklist.    Students will continue to use Teams .  They access Teams by logging into Office 365, then clicking on the Teams app.  Videos of lessons will be recorded by all of the sixth grade teachers and me so that your child can view them and complete the work at a time that is convenient for your family. If your child receives related service therapies (speech, occupational therapy, physical therapy, etc.), that teacher will be in contact with you and these therapies will begin the week of April 14th. Your child should complete the work for the subjects that your child has an IEP for, for me, and the subjects that your child has their homeroom teacher for, for them.  If your child sees me for part of Reading and their homeroom teacher for part of Reading, they should do the work for me and NOT for their homeroom teacher because the reading work with your child's homeroom teacher is incorporated in the content (Science/Social Studies) lesson. Your child should do their homeroom teacher's content (Science/Social Studies) lesson.  Your child's homeroom teacher is aware of this and in agreement with this.  

Your child's lessons on the schedule will include a content (Science/Social Studies) lesson, a math lesson, a reading/writing lesson, a flex lesson, and a specials lesson.  Families can create a learning routine that makes the most of their time.  All assignments are due by the end of the day on Friday.  Your child's homeroom teacher and I will assess students' work each day and provide feedback.   Due to confidentiality, I cannot post names or initials next to levels to indicate students' levels.  I will send each parent an e-mail individually informing the parents and student which category/grade level/level to follow posted on Teams to complete assignments daily. 

Your child's homeroom teacher and I will be available to answer questions during office hours.  My office hours are 12:00-12:30 pm and  3:00–3:30 pm.  E-mail is best to reach me first, then I will direct you to our Virtual Classroom on Microsoft TEAMS if needed.  Your child's homeroom teacher's office hours are posted on their schedule on their website and they are also posted on the student schedule on my website.  Your child's homeroom teacher and I coordinated so one of our office hour session times a day did not overlap, so that your child has times to check in with both of us at different times if needed.

On Fridays:

Your child will be participating in the following: social/emotional wellness with Mrs. Brown, QUEST, Independent Reading, finishing the assignments from the week, and a variety of flex activities that are listed on my schedule and your child's homeroom teacher's schedule on our websites.  On Fridays, your child's homeroom teacher and I will be using this time for lesson planning, team collaboration, assessing work and providing feedback.

The Weeks of April 6th and April 13th:

On Monday 4/6 your child will participate in a live meeting with their class at 9:00 am lead by their homeroom teacher on Teams.  I will also have a live meeting with my learning support students which I will lead at on Monday at 10:30 am.  Your child's homeroom teacher and I e-mailed you directions for how to access these meetings.  We know that this will be an adjustment for your child and in my meeting with your children on Monday, I will be discussing strategies for time management to help them adjust to this new plan.

The only expectation for your child on Monday 4/6 is to participate in these meetings and follow-up activities (which will be explained in the meetings) so that we can review the schedule, expectations, and answer any questions.  The rest of the activities that are described here will not begin until Tuesday 4/7.  For , the week of 4/6, students will follow the schedules posted on our websites for Tuesday 4/7 and Wednesday 4/8.  There is no school for students on Thursday 4/9, Friday 4/10, and Monday 4/13.  The week of 4/13, the students will follow the schedules posted on our websites for Tuesday 4/14, Wednesday 4/15, Thursday 4/16, and Friday 4/17.  

Please keep in mind that this is the beginning of a new endeavor for all of us, especially with all of this technology, so we appreciate your understanding and flexibility.  

Thank you for all that you do for your child and for your continued support.  Stay healthy and safe.

Here is the Teams Call Etiquette for you to review with your child before Monday, 4/6:

Teams Call Etiquette

Policy: Our main goal is keeping students safe on-line. With Teams, and any of our Live Check-in tools, our district can monitor all chat and conversations. According to our current Board Policy 815, CBSD will provide protection measures for minors and maintain a usage log. We also have the obligation of monitoring online activities of minors.

Please remind your child about appropriate content on all of our online tools. When being shown on video, they should use appropriate behavior. Teams uses SSL technology and encrypts the contents of video conferences end to end. Only individuals who have an invitation link are able to join such a video conference.

Student Expectations

Students are expected to conduct themselves appropriately.  Their actions should always reflect our district policies and procedures.

All students are to adhere to the same standards of behavior online as they would face-to-face.  Everything the students post in the chat window can be viewed by our teachers.

Students are not permitted to take or post images, videos or screenshots of classmates, teachers or class content and post to the web or social media.

All students are to support and assist efforts to promote acceptance of others.  Teasing and hazing will not be tolerated.